Not of This World: Cheesy title, I know
by thatredheadedchick
Summary: Summary inside. Fixed the quotations. HideXOC and BeeXOC. Different Oc's but in HideXOC POV
1. Chapter 1 Prologue

**Hello everyone! Nice of you to click on the link to my story! First off, let's set things off with a nice little disclaimer, shall we?**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but my own character and a few others. I own no Transformers, except the ones that come out of my brain (which I realize that the word "Transformer" is a registered trademark). I do not make a profit, and all the glory goes to Hasbro and company, along with the movie producers, script writers, etc; Please do not sue me, as I work as a sandwich artist, making minimum wage, with lots of bills and it will be a total waste of your time.... Thank you.**

**So now that we have that out of the way..... Here's a full summary of this pretty little story o' mine.**

**SUMMARY: Rhiley Grant was just a normal, teenaged, girl about to enter the world of adulthood by graduating high school. However, her life is thrown upside down when her father buys her a brand new, shinny, yellow camero......**

**WARNING: Contains Spoilers for the 2****nd**** movie, which, by the way, was the greatest ever!**

**Later on, it will contain mature content for ages 17 and older.**

**I do not know who I am going to pair my OC up with. It is up to you, the reader, to let me know who you would like it to be. If I do not get any answers by July 10****th**** then I am going to choose for you. You can choose from the following:**

**Ironhide**

**Optimus**

**Ratchet**

**Jolt**

**Sideswipe**

**Bumblebee**

**(I'm sorry people but Jazz IS NOT COMING BACK. That is just rediculous.)**

**Like I said, voting ends July 10****th**** 2009. After that, you have to persuade me to change my mind. Tell me why I should do this on a certain Transformer that better fits your interest.**

I sat in school, thinking about a lot of different things. As I sat in "Achievement" period, as they called it at my school, (it was just a free period to sit and do your work, or in my case, nothing), I couldn't help but stare out at the yellow, black striped camero, which stuck out like a sore thumb in our little redneck parking lot, filled with trucks and cars, that were probably, with no surprise, held together with duct tape and bungee cords.

Who am I, do you ask? My name is Rhiley Grant. I am 18 years old, about to graduate from highschool, in a small town called Hillman, in Michigan. It was about a month ago that my dead beat father had taken me to his car dealership to pick out my first car. He had claimed, however, that he had never seen this car before, but I took it none-the-less. I suppose he figured this nice car would make up for years of abuse towards me, which was brought about over his idiotic girlfriend. To make a long story short, I had told him before that it was either her or me..... Guess who he picked? Oh well.... At least I get a car out of the deal.

Well, it was definitely a nice car. However, about a week ago today, I had found out that my car was a mechanical alien from a distant planet. Talk about a shocker. I had never been so freaked out in my entire life!

Turns out, the "Decepticons", as they call the bad guys, were after me, for some odd reason. And Bumblebee, that's the name of my camero, was sent from a different state to protect me. Yes, I said state. Not planet.

Evidently, there was a problem with the Decepticons in a city called Mission City. Bee was sent there from another planet to save and protect a boy named Sam Witwicky.

Come to find out, there were more of these "Autobots", as the good guys called themselves, running about the coast. Great. Things were getting really complicated.

**Ok that was just the Prologue. I wanna see if people are actually going to read this or if I shouldn't even bother....**

**Don't forget to vote!!!!**


	2. Chapter 2

Here I sat, attempting to finish my Algebra II homework, but my mind, I found, kept going back to the camero parked outside. Sure, all the school envied me, it's understandable seeing as how the nicest car you'd see around my little redneck town is a sunfire. I mean, occasionally you'd see the nice old fashioned cars, but that was mostly during one day out of the year and that was during the Hillman Street Drags, and that was coming up fast.

And just like that my ADD kicked in and my mind instantly wondered to the possibilities, with this nice, shiney, animate object.

I also noticed that no matter how many times I thought or said to myself that my car was alive, it was still hard for me to swallow.... That is until the next time I see him transform. Then reality comes crashing back down on me.

Before I knew it, class was over. I must have really spaced out this time because I was one of the last ones out of the class. I hadn't thought I spaced out THAT long.

Next thing I know, I was in my mechanics class, hanging in the CAD room, where I am usually found doing my Algebra homework (I really didn't want to fail that class. It was the only credit I needed to pass that class), however, I could not concentrate on my homework to save my ass. Again. For some reason I couldn't get the opening cadence, which we had used every single pep and marching band since our band was simple minded as a group to learn a new one, was stuck in my head. As well as the fact that MY CAR WAS A DAMN ALIEN FROM ANOTHER PLANET! Oh well. I suppose it could be worse. It could be raining! (Actually I like the rain, so that couldn't make it worse.....).

Unfortunately, seventh hour had seemed to drag on and on. Mostly it was because I was anxious about my car. Every day brought a new surprise and so far I was spared for the day. For now anyways....

Before I knew it, yet again, I was done with school and headed out to the car. I sighed as I threw my book bag into the passenger's seat and sat down in the driver's seat. The car then proceeded to start up by itself, and as many times as that has happened to me lately, you would think I would be used to it. I wasn't.

"I really don't think I'll ever get used to that." I stated as I grabbed the wheel and pulled out of the parking lot.

"It took Sam less time to come to terms." he stated through the radio.

"Yes, well, it was forced upon him. He had to save the world. I, however, do not. You said yourself that you had no idea what these evil beings wanted with me!" I stated as we pulled into the BP parking lot, then strait to the employee only parking. "Now. I have to go to work. I'll be out around 8-ish." I stated as I grabbed my work uniform out of my bag and headed to the door.

Work went just swimmingly. There was no air conditioning and when you're working in front of a bunch of ovens all night, the heat can really get to you. I have seen very pleasant people turn into an asshole in the blink of an eye in heat like what I was currently in. My usual chirpy, friendly "costumer comes first" attitude was crushed within a few minutes of being in that building. What do I do? I am a sandwich artist....at Subway. I also work at a pizza place (in the same building), a gas station (which was also in the same building), and a bakery, which was, (You guessed it!) also in the same building .

It had to be close to 100 degrees out and why the air conditioning decided TODAY that it wanted to go on strike was beyond me. Even the cooler's air conditioners were out, so we couldn't even go hang in the cooler to cool off.

As promised, at eight o'clock-ish, I punched out and headed for my talking car. I then proceeded to get in and shut the door. Then his engine revved to life and we were headed home.

As soon as I got home, I got out, after grabbing my bag, and walked into the house. My mom wasn't home from work yet, apparently, because there was a note left for me, sitting on the table saying what my chores of the day were.

I sighed as I threw my bag on the chair and collapsed on the couch and turned on the T.V. and of course there was nothing good on at this point in the day. I mumbled obscenities at the satellite before I turned off the T.V. and walked into my room and lay down to take a nap.

I woke about an hour later to find Bee helping my mother with some yard work. He was lifting heavy boulders and placing them around the chicken and duck coop so that the animals couldn't dig their way into the house or pen.

I have got to tell you, Mom was taking to it better than I was.

I walked out to where they were and sat on a lawn chair that was next to the duck house. I stared at the alien as he helped my mother carry heavy boulders to line the coups with so that no animals could dig their way under the fencing. Not that they would get under the railroad ties or anything, but my mom was pretty paranoid that way.

I just sort of sat there and watched Bumblebee. No matter how much I stared, I just couldn't get it into my thick head that he was definitely an alien robot from another planet.

I draped my legs over the side of the chair and watched, but suddenly, I found myself in Bee's hand.

"Red! You okay?!" my mom practically yelled at me. I nodded as I held my head in my hand, a splitting headache showing it's ugly face.

"Yea, I'm fine…" I mumbled as Bumblebee let me down and I shook my head to rid me of a terrible ringing in my ears. Thank goodness it was the weekend.

By the time Sunday rolled around, I found myself at work, yet again.

"So, Rhiley, how's school going for ya?" one of my supervisors asked as I threw together a special at Donatellos. I just gave her "the look" and she laughed.

"That great, huh?" she asked and I shrugged.

Tonight I got out a little later than I had expected to. I got out at about 9-ish and I walked out to my car with my beverage in one hand and my hoodie in the other.

I was just out the door when a siren was heard for a brief moment and flashers caught my attention. I looked to my left to see the cop car about a foot away from me. It was an out of state police vehicle. I could tell because it was clean and flashy. The cop cars around here were of different style, model and were never quite as clean as the one that sat before me. However, I knew there was something off with this police vehicle as soon as I read the "_To punish and enslave_" on the side. However, that thought was pushed from my brain as the man in the seat stared daggers at me.

"What now?" I grumbled to myself as I waited for the man to get out of the car and start reading off my rights. What I wasn't expecting was the man to suddenly flicker out as gears started grinding and I knew instantly that this wasn't a normal human cop car. My eyes widened as I stood before the creature, but I couldn't find the strength to run away. I guess I didn't really have to though, because in a matter of seconds, Bee had raced to my side and threw open the door so that I could jump in.

"What the fuck was that?!" I cried out as I gripped the steering wheel. I looked back to see the mad cop car chasing after us and I let out a screech as I gripped the wheel a bit harder. I suddenly heard a bunch of pixilated sounds and after a moment Bee spoke up.

"We're going to California!" a female voice exclaimed excitedly over his radio.

"What?! I don't think so!" I all but screamed at him, but the car behind us, which was gaining speed, by the way, helped me to change my mind. I knew we couldn't even stop at my house so I could pack. We had to lose him. And quickly.

It took two hours, a few curves in the road, and a tunnel to lose him, but we managed. I looked back once more just to make certain that he gone, before I relaxed and let out a sigh.

"You know, I wish my life were a lot simpler. Why can't I just be a normal person, with normal friends and a normal car?" I mumbled as I rest my forehead on the wheel.

"Being normal is vastly over rated!" Bee said through the radio.

"But I like normal." I stated as I leaned back.

After a day's ride, I was growing restless. I mean, sure we had stopped so I could stretch, eat and use a restroom, but other than that I have been cooped up in this car the entire ride.

We had finally hit the Kentucky boarder and we stopped so I could get something to eat and drink. I walked into the gas station and grabbed a bag of Bugles, a strawberry daiquiri SoBe, and I set them on the counter.

"This it for today, ma'am?" A woman with a thick southern draw asked. I nodded. I handed her a 20 and walked out into the night's crisp air, only to find a bunch of Hispanic "gang members" hanging around my car (Ok. First off, before anyone goes and get offended, I will tell you that I am of Hispanic origin and I was not being racist). I merely walked up, ignoring their stares, until I went to open the driver's side door and, who I was guessing was, their leader slammed it shut again for me. I merely stood there staring at his hand.

"I think not little chicka. I think you should hand the keys over before somebody gets hurt." He stated and I felt cold metal rub between my shoulder blades. A gun. Great. Just great. I didn't answer. "What, are you deaf?! I said hand over the keys!" he emphasized his words further by pressing the gun barrel further into my back.

"I don't think so." I said and I was suddenly grabbed by two of his men, my bag of goodies falling and I could hear the distinct sound of glass breaking. 'There goes my SoBe before I could even enjoy it!' my mind screamed as they twisted me to face their leader. I knew Bee wanted to help me, but he couldn't show himself in the public. Even if we were in the darker part of the parking lot.

"Shall we search her, boss?" the one on my right, that wasn't holding me back, spoke in Spanish. Hey, what can I say? I knew I needed Spanish class for some reason and here it is!

"Do it." He responded in English and I felt hands patting me down, as if I were being investigated by the cops. The man pulled out my wallet and opened it to find nothing interesting and threw it over his shoulder (I always held my money in my bra. That thing wasn't just to hold the girls up, you know!).

"Nothing, Boss." The man replied and he walked up to me and held the gun point blank at my chest.

"Well then, they must be in the car. No use for you then, eh?" he said with a smirk and I felt a violent pain as the man pulled the trigger and a loud bang filled the air. There was nobody around at this point, and I heard Bee about to transform. However, once they let me go, expecting me to fall lifeless to the ground, I stayed standing.

"What the fuck!? What the hell are ya?!" one man yelled at me and they all backed off as Bee transformed and I could feel myself let go. In the flash of an eye I was kicking ass and within moments all 5 were dead. I stood there and stared as I felt guilt come over me and I fell to my knees and started bawling my eyes out. I just stared at my hands in disbelief. I looked over to Bee, who merely held my hat out for me to grab, which I did, and put it on my head to cover my ears that protruded through the top of my skull in a cat-like manner. I reached around where my tail lay loosely on the ground and tied it back around my waist. I now looked Human again.

We were driving again. We made it past the boarder when he spoke up.

"What was that?!" a child's voice rang out through the speaker system.

"I really don't want to talk about it." I said as I just stared out at the black nothingness of night.

It took another three days to get to California. I had never even been out of the state of Michigan before, and this was proving to be one hell of a road trip. My Mother, I was sure, had been trying to get a hold of me, and I hated to do this to her, but I had no choice. Bumblebee had told me that I needed to shut my phone off so that they couldn't track me through the satellites. Damn you, GPS app.

"Why do they want me, Bee?" I asked as we passed into Mission City.

"I don't know. I honestly don't know." He actually talked.

"Voice doing Okay, then?" I asked with a smile.

"It comes and goes." He said as we pulled up to a base-like structure where he gave his identification, which was actually just a scan of his figure, and we passed through the gate.

We pulled into a very large room and I got out of Bee and he transformed as a large door opened and a bunch of army men came running out and surrounded me with their guns raised.

"Stand down! We don't even know if she is a threat yet or not!" yelled a man and I just looked around as they lowered their weapons.

That's when more giant robots came out and I just stared.

"Are you Rhiley Aline Grant?" asked, who I was guessing was, their leader.

"Yes, sir." I said as I stared up at him and he smiled down at me.

"I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots from the planet Cybertron." He said and I tilt my head to the left a little. He then went on to introduce the other "Autobots" as they called themselves, and I feared I would never remember who all of them were. "Seems Starfire is currently M.I.A." Optimus said and I looked up at him.

"The femme has accompanied Sam and Mikaela to some concert." The Robot, whom I remembered as Ratchet, said as he made a face of disapproval, or at least that was what I was guessing it was. That's when I spoke up.

"I don't mean to seem rude, Sir, but why am I here? Why are the bad guys after me?" I asked and his smile faded.

"That, we are not so sure of. The Decepticons seem desperate to get a hold you. Their purpose is unclear, but I fear it would be hazardous to your health if they should take you hostage." He said. I sighed. "We have decided that staying here on the base would be wise for the time being. Mikaela shall be coming by later today to take you out to get clothes and necessities. Till then, Captain Lennox shall show you to your temporary room for the time that you are here." The large alien said and a man, who I was guessing was the Captain, stepped forward. He looked quite young to be a captain, but who was I to judge, right? Hell, I thought my car was just an ordinary car till one day it just got up and walked on its own.

"Follow me, please." He said and I obliged.

We walked for what seemed like hours, when it was merely a whole 5 minutes. He stopped in front of a door and faced me.

"This is it." He said as he opened the door and stepped aside to let me in first. It was just a plain room. It had a plain twin bed on the far wall across from the door, a window, a closet and a dresser. That was it.

"Quick question." I said as I looked around.

"Yes, ma'am?" he more said than asked.

"Bathroom is…?" I asked and I looked at him. "Well, being as this is a military base, there is a locker room just down the hall. Don't worry, there's a women's and a men's locker room." He added after seeing my terrified expression. I mentally sighed.


	3. Chapter 3

**I forgot that I posted this chapter on a different site, but not this one. Please forgive me!!! ^.^'**

I sat in my room staring at the blank wall across from my bed. I had moved my bed to the left wall since that was where my bed was in my own home. In about two hours, that girl, Mikaela, or whatever her name was, was going to come and take me shopping. Hurray for money from the government! I had called my mother from a secure military line just an hour before and she was so heartbroken. I felt like a horrible person, worrying her like I did, but I had no choice. They didn't want the bad guys capturing me. As I got lost in my thoughts, a knock to my door brought me back to reality.

"Come in." I said and in walked a very pretty girl, whom I was guessing was Mikaela.

"Are you Rhiley?" she asked and I nodded. "I'm Mikaela. Are you ready to go shopping?" she asked and I nodded as I got up. I glanced in the mirror real quick and adjusted my bangs and we walked out.

We went back out into that huge room where I had met everyone and was greeted by an Autobot that I hadn't met yet.

"Rhiley, this is Starfire." She introduced and I nodded my head in acknowledgement.

"Nice to meet you. Was Bee good in Michigan?" she asked and I nodded.

"Bumblebee is her mate." Mikaela whispered in my ear.

"Oh…." I stated as a black GMC Topkick pulled up.

"You're taking us, Ironhide? I thought Bee was taking us?" she asked, surprised.

"He was supposed to, but he wished to spend some time with Starfire." Said a dark, gruff voice coming from the pickup. Mikaela shrugged her shoulders as she walked over to the driver's side and got in. I was a little hesitant.

"Come on, girl we haven't got all day." He snapped and I quickly jumped into the passenger's side. It was definitely a nice truck. Too bad it was an alien robot; otherwise I'd totally want to steal it.

So it didn't take long to get to the mall. It was huge! I figured it would be days before we got out of there. I'm fairly sure that I tried on every article of clothing there! It was ridiculous! I mean, I like to shop, but this was really pushing it. I got a few t-shirts, a couple pairs of jeans, three hoodies, a few new bandanas, and two sets of PJ's. Make-up I could live without, but I did end up buying a thing of eyeliner, since that was pretty much the only thing I actually wore. Two hours later, we were hauling my bags of clothing and such out to the truck.

"About time." A deep voice mumbled through the radio as we put the bags in the back seat. "What is it with human females and shopping, anyways?" he asked.

"I'm not into shopping as much as most women around here!" I countered and I didn't hear a word after that.

We were on our way back to the base when we were attacked.

"It's Barricade!" Ironhide exclaimed as that damn cop car chased after us.

"No! Not this joker again!" I practically yelled as Ironhide sped up, trying to lose the freak cop car. I could hear Ironhide calling for back up as he turned down a dead end road that lead up to a field where there was barely anyone around. Moments later he threw us and my new stuff out and transformed. He readied his cannons and fired at the oncoming car. I was currently freaking out as Mikaela and I grabbed my stuff and put it at the base of a tree where we thought it would be safe and we hid behind it and looked out at the fight. Within moments, a yellow camaro came speeding down the road, followed by a Jaguar XKR. They both transformed and the battle continued. Starfire took a good hit to the chest, a strange blue liquid seeping from her circuits. Bee freaked out! He was completely merciless to the Decepticon.

After all was said and done, Barricade, as I found was his name, went running with his tale between his legs and we ran towards Starfire, who had fallen to the ground in pain. Ironhide radioed for Ratchet as Bee pressed his hand on the wound, trying to stop the flow. I stared as she gasped, her venting system working over time. It was then that I knew what I had to do. I pulled out a knife from my back pocket and ran up to her. They tried to stop me, but I was far too fast…. I was faster that humans, let alone large robots. I walked up to her and I expertly pulled the blade across my palm, not even flinching from the pain. Bee stood back and just watched me. I stuck my bloodied hand on her side and closed my eyes and listened as circuits shut themselves up and the wound was healed. It was a sickening metal grinding sound as the gaping hole closed up. It was over so fast that she was sitting up by the time Ratchet had gotten there. I sat, at a loss of energy, and looked at my hand. There was no cut. There was no scar. All the blood was gone.

"What the frag was that?!" Ironhide all but yelled, but I was too weak to speak. I just wanted to sit there and stare off at nothing. That's when Ratchet transformed and ran to Starfire to make sure she was ok.

"Everything is functioning normally. Why did you call me down for nothing? I thought she was injured?" he asked. Ironhide pointed at me and explained the situation.

"Interesting. That could be why the Decepticons are after her. They probably figure she could bring Megatron back to life." Ratchet more thought aloud than told us.

"I can't bring anyone back to life, though. It would kill me! Even if I used that much energy, it may not even bring said person and/or thing back to life. I usually heal humans. Mending a giant robot, no offense, is much harder than a human. I've never felt so drained." I said as my head started drooping.

"According to my scans, your body is stable. You are just low on energy. Nothing some well deserved rest won't cure." Said Ratchet and I sighed as Mikaela brought my bags and Ironhide, as well as the others, transformed and we got in Ironhide again and we were off to the base. We were only a mile into the trip when I had nodded off, falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.

I awoke some time later, still in the truck, only there was nobody else around. I sat up from the reclined seat and looked around. I was in an oddly large room with piles of oddly shaped metals that I was guessing were parts to assorted weapons and such. I got out of the truck and shut the door.

"Must you slam my doors so hard?" asked a deep voice, coming from the truck and I whipped around in surprise. I sighed in relief when I realized it was just Ironhide.

"My apologies. I just can't quite get used to this whole situation yet." I said matter-of-factly. Then the grinding of gears and shifting of metal was heard as he transformed.

"Well get used to it. Human vehicles may not feel it, but it hurts." He said.

"Again, I am sorry." I said sincerely.

"You are forgiven, this time." He said and I smiled up at him and then left the room, only to find that I had no idea where I was going. I figured this would be the perfect time to get around and get used to my surroundings. It was a very large, interesting place and I eventually found my way to my room, by following my own scent trail. I walked into my room to find that all my stuff had been brought here. I shuffled through some bags and put my clothes away in designated drawers and threw the other tid bits on top. This was when I figured I needed to take a shower, so I grabbed a pair of PJ's, which consisted of a black spaghetti strap and a pair of black baggy bottoms that had skulls and roses as a design. I then walked all the way to the women's locker room, grabbed a towel off the rack, and went to the showers. Luckily for me, they were stalls with curtains on them.

Let me tell you what, this shower was welcomed with open arms. A shower had never felt so good to me.

I shut the water off and reached out for my towel. I first dried my ears, then wrapped the towel around my body and before I went out, I heard voices.

"I hear there's a new girl on the base." Said one voice.

"I hear she's a freak, just like the rest of them." Said a second voice.

"Well I hear she's worse than them. Cat-like ears? A tail? This girl is definitely not from our planet." Said a third. That's when I stepped out in all my "freakish" glory, my tail swaying with irritation behind me, splashing water every which way.

"Yes, I am from another planet. That doesn't make me a freak, thank you very much. I have lived on Earth since I was very young. I might as well be human." I said and one stepped forward.

"Just because you live here on Earth, doesn't mean you are one of us." She said and they all walked away with their noses high in the air. 'And I thought military people had manners.' I mentally sighed as I grabbed another towel so I could towel dry my hair and tail.

I plopped down on my bed, the women's exchanging of words slowly lifting from my already troubled mind. I stared up at the ceiling as I slowly went over today's events. Now they knew. I guess I have always known deep down why these creatures were after me. I just didn't know that they were after me to bring back their dead leader. Life was slowly rebelling against me.

I awoke the next morning, got up, got dressed, grabbed a granola bar (which I had bought yesterday), and went out to greet the world. I no longer cared who saw my true self. Not since everyone apparently already knew.

I walked into the main, large room where all the Autobots were located.

"What is going on?" I asked as I looked around.

"New arrivals." Bee answered from behind me. I quickly turned to see him and Star coming in behind me.

"When are they supposed to arrive, Optimus?" asked Ratchet as he came closer to the scanners.

"Three hours from now. Just outside the city." He said as he stared at the computer screens, arms crossed behind his back.

I stood there and watched the screens. They were showing pictures from outer space. I saw seven meteorite-like figures lighting up the way, headed right strait for earth. It was the wildest thing I have ever seen in my entire life.

"Those are the arrivals?" I asked as I looked up at the screens in awe. I quickly looked up at Bumblebee for an instant and he looked down and nodded at me.

They had finally landed and I was riding with Sam and Mikaela in Bee to the site. We arrived in the middle of a desert and I saw many craters where they had landed.

"Where are they?" I asked as I got out of Bee and looked around.

As if to answer my question, the sound of several different engines roaring in the distance sounded. That's when 7 vehicles showed up. The sound of metal grinding and shifting filled the silent air as they all transformed and stood in a line like the soldiers they were. I couldn't believe my eyes. I couldn't help but stare in awe at the four Mechs and three Femmes that stood before me. They sounded off their designations and everyone got acquainted and then we headed back to the base to show the new 'bots around. I, however, walked off on my own to mentally map out the base. It was much easier for me to remember this way. I always could remember things better when I was on my own without someone rambling off the significance of certain rooms.

Later that night I was in the mesh hall eating dinner when a girl with blonde hair and bright blue eyes came to sit next to me.

"Who are you?" I asked with curiosity in my eyes.

"Now, don't tell me you don't remember who I am." Her voice was so familiar… Then it hit me like a ton of bricks.

"Starfire? How do you look…"

"Human? It's my Holoform. Seriously, how weird would it be if I were driving down the highway with no driver? This is how we fit in." She said and I just looked at her. I reached out and touched her and she felt real.

"Kinda neat, isn't it? Took me forever to master the whole 'being solid' thing." She said as she examined her hands.

"Do all you guys have one?" I asked. Probably a stupid question, but it was worth asking.

"Of course we all do. Some have it down better than others. Like, Ratchet has worked at it harder since he has to have it to treat the military men and such. He's almost perfected his. Ironhide barely has one since he never uses it, so he can only bring it up for a limited amount of time and can't wonder too far from his actual form otherwise he'll lose it." She explained. I just sat and took in all this information. It was actually kind of interesting and made quite a bit of sense.

After talking for a while, just talking about her life and my life and comparing note, we found out we had actually had a lot in common, and I figured I was going to get along with this Autobot quite well.


	4. Chapter 4

**So, I am sorry that it took so long for me to update... I've been very busy with school and such, but now I have a lot of free time on my hands until the 11th of January, so I will be able to update once or twice a week, at the very least. I did have, like, 3 or 4 more chapters written out, but my computer is on the rag again and decided it would crash. Long story short, I lost all my data. I did, however, remember most of what I lost. Though it is not as great as the first time I wrote it, here is Chapter 4!!!**

**Oh, and a special thanks to those who messaged/reviewed and added me to alert/favorite lists. It is much appreciated and I found it is a real motivator. So, the more you review/message me, the more likely the next chapter won't end up being a filler. In short, More reviews=better chapters=faster updating.**

**Figured I would just lay it out like that. Mwahahaha. **

I sat on the roof of the base main building. Back home, when I just needed to get away and think for a little while, I jump up onto the roof top and stared at the stars. That was what I was doing now. I stared up at the star and thought about the recent events. Decepticons wanted me because of what I was. They wanted to bring back their dead leader and they expected I was able to help them. Great. How wonderful. I just wanted to live my life as a normal 18 year old human, but no. No that was too easy. I sighed as I hugged my legs and buried my face in my knees.

"I miss my Mother..." I mumbled as I cuddled my legs.

"You shouldn't be out so late. It's cold out." said a gruff, deep voice which shook me from my thoughts. "What are you doing up there, anyways?"

I looked down to see Ironhide looking up at me.

"I like watching the stars." I said as I stared up at the sky again. "They make me feel at peace..." I whispered that last part.

"Home sick?" he asked and I looked at him, then at the stars again.

"I... I don't remember my home planet. I scarcely remember my family... I remember I had 6 other siblings and a mom that really loved us all, but that's it. Not details..." I recalled as I searched the stars.

"I was talking about your home in Michigan..." he stated and I quickly looked down at him.

"Oh! Oh, yea... I really miss that home too..." I said with a blush. I stood and stretched. I walked to the edge and, instead of jumping on Ironhide's waiting hand, I jumped right down. Ironhide about had a fit.

"You shouldn't have jumped that far! That's as high as a 4 story earth house!" he exclaimed as I dusted myself off.  
"How do you think I got up there?" I asked with a smirk as i stared up at him. With that, I left his confused figured and went inside. I went to my room, kicked off my shoes, fell back on my bed and as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out like a light.

The next morning I awoke to the sound of a fist meeting my door.

"Hey! Open up! Frag you Humans waste a lot of time in stasis!" yelled a female voice and I got up and opened the door to reveal Starfire.

"What? What is so important that you had to wake me up at 7 in the morning?! Someone better be dead... Or dying!" I growled at her and she froze.

"No...Neither.... I was just bored." She said and I sighed as I slammed the door shut.

I leaned against the door, tightly closed my eyes and let out a sigh. Then I turned and opened the door again.

"What did you want?" I asked as I stood with my hand on my hip. She instantly went from "kicked puppy" to "Happy go lucky" in two seconds flat.

"I came to tell you to get up! Sam and Mikaela wanted to go to the beach today and we figure you'd want to come along!" she said happily.

Oh God she's a morning person... I looked over to my clock. 1 o'clock in the afternoon.

Half an hour later, I found myself at the lake with Sam, Mikaela, Bee and Starfire. I have always hated going to the lake because of the fact that my tail and ears were quite hard to hide when in a bathing suit.

However, I was assured, and reassured several times thereafter, that we were going to a very secluded, cut off, remote area so that Bee and Star could transform and hang out. I figured it would be safe if they were able to transform.

I stood by a bush, stripping to my swim suit, a Coca-Cola bikini with "Coca" on the right breast, "Cola" on the left, "Coca Cola" on the front of the bottoms and on the butt, "Pepsi Sucks" in large, bold white letters. The suit base color was, of course, red. I untied my tail from my waist, took my bandana off, my ears perking up, black fur contrasting with the dark red of my hair. I neatly folded my clothes, setting them on the top of the bush, and slowly made my way out towards the lake, my arms slowly snaking their way to cover myself, more out of instinct than anything else. I was so self conscious when I didn't have anything covering my ears and tail. What made it worse was that Sam stared at me. He was the only one who hasn't seen me yet. I knew that it wasn't out of lust that he was staring at me, and I believed that Mikaela thought the same, as she smacked him and he looked at her like "What the hell was that for?!" and she glared at him.

"Don't stare! It isn't polite!" she retaliated and he averted his gaze.

I now stood ankle deep in refreshingly cool water, arms still covering myself. The water felt so good on a hot, muggy day.

When I was about waist deep, I plunged into the cool water, coming up drenched. My ears glued themselves to my head as I shook. I swam over to them just as a familiar black Topkick rolled up and transformed.

"Do you think it wise to be out while the Decepticons are looking for her?" Ironhide inquired as he nodded his head in my direction. Though we were a ways out, and Mikaela and Sam couldn't hear, as I have said before, my ears are there for more than just looks.

I ignored them as I dove under the water, swimming closer to the couple. I came up and Sam jumped. Mikaela rolled her eyes as I floated on my back. Despite being a "cat-like creature" I rather enjoyed the water.

"This is nice. I never went swimming in a lake before." I said with a smile as I closed my eyes and let the water wash away my cares.

"Are you serious, why not?" Sam asked and Mikaela elbowed him.

"It's fine, Mikaela... When you're like this, people aren't quite so friendly towards you, especially parents." I said as I recalled an incident.

~~Flashback~~

I was 8 years old when my mom took me to the popular swimming hole for the first time. It was a little pond that all the parents took their children to cool down. My tail was shaved and hidden in my swim suit (a Little Mermaid one piece), and I wore a swimming cap to hide my ears, though the cap was a size too big for my little head. I was so excited, as I had never gone swimming in a public place before. After being smothered with sun lotion, I was quite eager to jump in. There was this rock overlooking the little pond, just besides a particularly deep end. All the kids were jumping off, doing cannon balls and what not, and I figured I would try this as well. As I stood atop of the rock, feeling like a Queen, a rather nasty bully, whom I knew from school, came running up behind me and with an "Oops", shoved me into the water. I came up sputtering, with tears gone unnoticed on an already wet face. Everything was uncomfortably quiet. A few gasps and cries later, all the parents had their kids out of the water and were headed home after a few harsh words such as "Why would you bring that little freak out into the public?!" as the parents walked past my mother. I didn't understand it, until I saw my swimming cap floating in front of me. I flinched as I sank into the water, taking up my cap and putting it back on top of my head. That was the first time I saw my mother cry....

We moved shortly after that.

~~End Flashback~~

I was abruptly brought from my own little world by a sudden spray of cold water, coming from Mikayla.

"Stop spacing out like that! We're gunna have fun today!" she exclaimed as she splashed me again, but was met with a splash of my own.

A couple hours later, after finding ourselves pruned and water-logged, we finally got out. Sam went back to the base with Bumblebee while Ironhide and Starfire hung back. Mikaela and I had decided to get our tan on before having to go back. She was able to leave and go home as she pleased, but I, on the other hand, was not allowed to go anywhere without a chaperone. I hated it.

"So why _are_ you still here, Hide?" Starfire inquired. I looked back to see him watching me and Mikaela.

"Optimus has assigned me to be the girl's guardian." he said with his arms crossed. Seemed to me like he didn't care much for this assignment.

As I laid in the sun, on a beach towel with sand sticking to various parts of my body, I couldn't help but wonder what would happen when all of this drama was over with. I couldn't just go home and pretend nothing was happening. I couldn't just pretend to go on with my life as if I didn't know that there was an alien race out and about. I looked over at Mikaela and saw that she was pretty much asleep, laying on her stomach so that the sun could get to her back.

"I don't see the point in just laying in the sun, other than developing what you humans call "cancer"." Ironhide pointed out, showing his displeasure in being here.

I sighed as I got up. I picked up my towel and, after shaking the sand off of it, wiped the sand off my body with it. It hung around my neck as I walked over to grab my clothes off the bush. They were left, folded neatly, right where I had left them.

After getting dressed I walked over to Star and Ironhide.

"I'm ready to go back now." I said and Ironhide mumbled something that sounded like a "finally" under his breath as he transformed.

"Tell Mikaela I had fun and I'll see her later, ok Starfire?" I asked and she nodded as I jumped into the driver's side of the Topkick.

The drive back to the base was rather uneventful and quiet. That is, until I spoke up.

"So, you're my guardian, right? Just like how Bee is Sam's guardian and Starfire is Mikaela's, right?" I asked.

"Yea, so?" his voice rung through the radio and I shrugged.

"Just wondering." I said as I subconsciously rubbed my four fingers against my thumb, both being on my right hand. A nervous habit I picked up a long time ago. My mom always said it was a wonder I still had my fingerprints.

"So, have you heard anything on the Decepticon's whereabouts?" I asked.

"Sideswipe took out a scout earlier this morning. Just a puny thing, apparently." he said and I sighed.

"I'm sorry I've brought an unwanted burden on everyone. I wish I could change everything, but I'm cursed with these abilities and for that I have put everyone around me at risk...." I sighed as my fists tightened.

"Everyone is already at risk just by knowing what we are. Even those who don't are at risk. You've just been thrown into a different category all together. Optimus has made it clear that we are to protect the human race. That is our goal while here on Earth, as well as exterminating those Decepti-creeps. Do not take all of this onto yourself, you will end up destroying yourself in the end." he said and the more I thought about it, the more I came to realize that he was right. This was already a huge burden to bear even when no one knew I existed.

**So there is Chapter 4! Don't forget! More Reviews/Messages=Better Chapters=Faster Updates! So hit the Review tab and let me know what you think!!!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you to all who messaged me! It means a lot! I'm sorry I had this one written a while ago, but my laptop was p.m.s.-ing again and it destroyed this chapter…. It really sucks…**

**Anyways, here ya go!**

**Oh, I thought I should tell everyone, I am using WordPad to do my stories, so if there are any spelling and/or grammar errors, although I thoroughly check my work over, there are times when I miss a word or two, so please be patient with me. I try my best to keep everything clean, I am a spelling/grammar Nazi after all, and my major is English in college, but there is only so much I can correct myself, as I am only into my second semester. Lol. **

**And another thing… Sorry I know you want to read, or are just skipping over this A.N., but I don't know if I ever specified when this story is taking place… For those of you who haven't caught on yet, it takes place in between the first and second movie, soon to start with the second movie. I will try to follow the second movie as best I can, and I know I will end up making Hide a little OOC, but pleeeease bear with me. I will make it worth it in the end, I promise!**

It has been a couple weeks since that day at the beach. I became more and more comfortable with myself, letting my ears and tail show freely when at the base. Being in the public was a different story, though. I was still far from ready to show myself to the world.

I sat on the roof of the base, staring up at the stars, yet again. Ironhide, just under me, had taken to being out here with me. We held great conversations and he really was a joy to talk to.

It had become like a routine for us… After the tiring day, we would both just sit out here.

I sat on the ledge of the roof, my feet, crossed and dangling as I gripped the edge. I stared at my feet, and before I even knew what I was saying, the words slipped from my mouth.

"Hey Ironhide? Do you have a girlfriend?" I asked and I mentally slapped myself. I didn't even know what I was thinking, asking him such a silly question.

He looked up at me and gave me a funny look, then went into thought.

"I had a spark-mate if that is what you mean." He said and for some reason, I felt disappointed.

"Had?" I asked as I finally looked at him. I could feel my face burn.

"Yes, she off-lined a long time ago." He said in his gruff voice. I felt bad.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." I said as I looked back down at my feet.

"Why do you ask?" he asked as he looked at me again.

"Oh, uhm, I was just curious is all. Just making conversation." I said. I could have slapped myself. In fact, I would have if he wasn't standing right there.

I then felt the need to leave… To be alone and think about why the hell I was acting so stupid.

"Well, Ironhide, I think I'm gunna head off to bed now." I said as I got up, once again ignoring his outstretched hand and jumping to the ground myself, landing gracefully to the pavement.

"I wish you wouldn't do that." He said and I smiled up at him.

"G'night, Ironhide." I said as I walked into the base, only to be met by the raised eyebrow of a certain femme in holoform.

"So, what exactly is going on between you two?" she asked as she motioned to the, now closed, steel door with her head.

"Between who?" I asked, now it was my turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Oh don't give me that," she started with a smirk, "you know exactly what I'm talking about." she said and I thought about it.

"I honestly don't know what you are talking about." I said truthfully and she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Between you and old Ironhide out there!" she said in an annoyed tone.

"Oh… Nothing. There's nothing going on. He's my guardian is all." I said as I looked down at my feet. Boy, did I ever find them interesting tonight.

"Oh, so you guys just enjoy star gazing every night, huh?" she asked as her smirk turned into an all out wicked grin.

"Maybe we do!" I tallied as I crossed my own arms across my chest. What the hell was she getting at?

"Ah. Well then, I suppose you should just know this… Hide isn't one to stare at the stars… He's more into working on a new weapon model, or blowing things up at the shooting range, or both. He's really changed since you've been around, Rhiley." And with that, she left me standing there.

I let out an annoyed/frustrated sigh as I walked to my own room. I figured a shower was in order.

As I stood there, letting the warm water wash the day's activities off my skin, I couldn't help but let my mind wonder. Was I developing feelings for the Autobot's Weapons Specialist? I mean, he was old. The more I thought about it, the more I realized just how old he had to of been. He was old enough to be my great great great great great great (10 minutes later) great great great great grandfather! If not older! I mean, if you think about it, _Bee_ is old. He told me he was a little older than the planet, Earth, itself! And he was considered a _youngster_ where he's from! So that made Ironhide REALLY old!

However, this logic couldn't keep me from wondering just how it would feel to be with him.

"Get a hold of yourself, Rhi! You sound like one of those little love-struck school girls drooling over the school jock! What the hell?!" I scolded myself aloud, hoping no one was in here to listen in.

I let out a sigh as I shut the water off, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my waist and walked out of the shower.

I quickly towel dried my hair, ears and tail, and walked out to go to my bedroom.

When I arrived, I threw my towel into the dirty clothes hamper and fell back onto my bed. As I curled into my blankets, my mind started to wonder again.

I couldn't get the whole fact out of my head that if I were to get with Hide, he'd be _really_ robbing the cradle… which led me to think of my own age. Sure, I was 18 _human_ years old, but what if I were a lot older? What if I was thousands and thousands of years old and didn't even know it? I could have amnesia or something!

The more I thought about it, the more I wished I could remember, because if I knew just how old I was, then I wouldn't have to feel so awkward about liking a guy that was, quite literally, ancient.

And the size difference! He was a good 13-14 feet, maybe even taller, than me!

My mind was racing… However, before I knew it, I had drifted off into a light slumber, still thinking of the possibilities.

I awoke the next day at about 9 in the morning. I got up, got dressed and went to go find Starfire. I needed to talk to someone, and, no offense to Mikaela, but I didn't quite trust her just yet. Not to this extent, and Star and I, however, had become fairly close since I had first met her.

I found her with Bee in the computer room, watching the monitors with Sideswipe.

When Star saw me, she smiled. She transformed and her holoform came out.

"Star, I need to talk to you." I said and Bee and Sideswipe both looked at me. "Alone." I added and she smiled.

"Sure, come on, I can show you my room!" she said and she jumped into her driver's side and I jumped into the passengers.

We arrived in her room a moment later. It was rather large, but that came as no surprise.

"So, what did you need to talk to me about?" she asked as she transformed and set me on her desk.

"Ok. You win. I think I am falling for Ironhide." I said and she squealed like a little school girl.

"Finally you admit it! I've been watching you guys, as you humans say; beat around the bush for so long!" she yelled in happiness.

"Star, it's not a good thing!" I yelled as my face grew hot.

"Why not?" she asked as her happy streak disappeared.

"Star, think about it. How would our relationship ever work? How…" but I caught myself. I was not going to go there.

"Well, work out the little details as you go!" she said and I sighed. I figured she didn't realize the problems this would bring about.

"You know, I could talk to him… Though, I think he'd end up shooting me…" she said as she went into deep thought.

"NO! No. If anything, I will do things myself." I said as I jumped off the desk.

"You know, you're lucky you didn't break your legs." she said as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Ironhide rags on me about jumping off ledges all the time. I am fine. Evidently, I can take it." I said with a chuckle.

About an hour later, I managed to get off on my own, Star managed to distract Bee, who was watching the cameras, while I ran off the base. I needed to get out, on my own, alone.

After a few hours of walking, I found myself on a cliff that overlooked a major city.

"This is nice…" I said to myself as I sat on the ledge. This was so needed.

I felt so happy and at peace right at this very second, that I felt as though nothing could bring me from my happy bubble. That is, until I heard an engine rev behind me.

I sighed.

"Why!? Why the hell can't I have TWO seconds to my-" I trailed off and my heart plummeted as I turned around and came face to face with Barricade. "No! No, you are NOT going to ruin my day, you asshole!" I cried out and I felt this weird feeling in my hands. I looked down to see that my nails had grown considerably longer in size. About six inches, actually.

I would have examined them further, but I heard the familiar gears grinding sound. I looked up to see that the Decepticon was staring down at me. I growled as I jumped at him.

"As I said, you will not ruin this day for me!" I cried as I latched on and clawed at his face. He let out an angry cry and, what I was guessing, a long string of curses in his native tongue.

He easily grabbed a hold of me and threw me to the ground. I landed with a thud and the wind was knocked from my lungs. I painfully sucked in the much needed air as I strained to get up, but I was immediately pinned by the massive machine's large hand, er, claw.

"You, fleshling, are lucky that Starscream wants you alive, or I would have crushed you already." he said as he pushed a little harder on my chest and I let out a pained cry and dug my own claws into one of his, what I was guess, finger. He let out a pained cry as he pulled back to examine it. I took this as an opportunity to make a run for it. I ran back into the forest behind the cliff with the evil being hot on my tail.

"Get back here!" he growled as he chased me.

"Yea, right! I'm just going to stop and let you grab hold of my fragile little body. Are you nuts?!" I cried out as I ran. Having unusually fast running skills, it was rather hard for the Decepticon to keep up.

I had finally, sort of, lost him and I took this time to find a hiding place, because there was no way I was going to out run him. I was getting tired, and fast. I found a place and immediately dove into the hollowed out trunk of a very large cedar tree. I quickly slowed my breath, the sound of my heart beat immediately pounding against my ear drum as I held my hands over my mouth to keep the sounds from escaping.

That was when I heard it. The loud tredding of a large robotic alien. He was about 30 feet away from me. I held my eyes shut as tightly as I possibly could as I crouched, held one hand tightly over my mouth as the other covered my head.

"Come out, fleshling! I know you are in this area, I can smell you!" the evil voice called and I crouched a bit deeper in my hole. I would be lying if I said I wasn't afraid for my life. I knew it would be very bad if I were caught.

A couple loud, metalic thuds to the ground later, I heard an evil chuckle and I finally found the courage to look up and was immediately met by two menacing red eyes. I let out a gasp as the tree was ripped from the ground and thrown to the side. I was so scared, I couldn't move.

"You won't get away this time." he growled at me as he went to grab me and I closed my eyes as I braced myself, but I felt no pressure.


	6. Chapter 6

**So, here is number 6. It actually turned out better than I thought it would. I hope it isn't too slow, but I'm still trying to plot things out in my brain. And, as I mentioned in earlier chapters, I am proof reading things myself, so if I miss some grammar / spelling mistakes, please forgive me. I was also fairly tired when I wrote this, so if some things don't make sense, it's because I normally write late at night when I can't sleep. I am a mad insomniac and this tends to help. lol. (And if this A.N. doesn't make sense it's because I wrote this at 1 in the morning. HAHA.)**

**I'm also trying to ease into the second movie. So be patient.**

Instead of being swept off my feet, I heard a strange deep growl and I could hear the horrid sound of metal grinding against metal. I quickly looked up to see Ironhide wrestling with the Decepticon. I gasped as I ran to help, unsure of what to do, but still determined.

I watched as they wrestled, Barricade managing to get a good punch in here and there, but Ironhide held strong. I wanted to help; I needed to help. I didn't know what to do! I hated feeling helpless. Especially when the one I had feelings for was in danger.

I suddenly felt this odd tingling sensation through my body. I felt weightless; as if I were floating (figuratively speaking). In a flash, it were as if my body were moving on it's own. I was in the battle. I ignored the shouts of disapproval coming from the Autobot as I started scratching metal and ripping cords. I couldn't control myself. No matter what I did, it was like someone else had taken over all together.

When I finally began to get my body back, I started crashing... Ya know how you feel when you've crashed from a sugar buzz? Times that by 10 and that was how I was feeling right now.

As I fought to keep consciousness, I saw Ironhide freak out and Barricade, once again, run with his tail between his legs.

"Rhiley! What happened?" was the last thing I heard before I blacked out.

I awoke to bright lights and people in my face. I have never liked people in my face. I was still hazy, still trying to make my eyes focus, on anything really.

"How are you feeling, Rhiley?" asked a voice and my first instinct was to throw my fist out at the nearest person. It collided with said voice and I sat up to see a man in a white coat holding his glasses in one hand and his face in the other.

"Oh my... I'm so sorry! I didn't break anything, did I?!" I cried out as I jumped up to help.

"No, just caught me off guard is all. I'm surprised you didn't break your hand." said the familiar voice of Ratchet. I just looked at the human before me. That's when the conversation I had with Star when we first met clicked. This must have been Ratchet's holoform.

I sat back down on the table and just stared at Ratchet. His holoform was pretty much the way I had imagined it. He stood about 6ft 3, lean, light brown, messy hair, and bright blue eyes hidden beneath a pair of wire rimmed glasses. He wore a doctor's white lab coat over a dark blue dress shirt with a light blue tie, which had the Autobot logo at the bottom, and he wore a pair of Khaki dress pants with a pocket on the side of the leg.

"How long did it take you to perfect your holoform?" I asked as he checked my pupil dilation.

"Not long, just a couple years." he said as he turned off his mini flashlight thingie and stuck it into his breast pocket. "Your vitals seem stable, everything is normal." he said and his holoform disappeared and the EMT truck started shapeshifting and before I knew it, I was sitting before Ratchet's true form. "You should probably take it easy, probably do less wondering and more relaxing." he said and I sighed as I jumped off the table.

"So, how long _was _I out?" I asked as I stretched.

"Roughly 7 hours." he said. I wasn't surprised. I was expecting a lot longer.

"Ok. So, I suppose I'm going to go back to my-" But I was cut off by a loud clang. I quickly looked to the door to see Mudflap run in with his brother in his arms, he was freaking out.

"What the slag have you two been doing?!" Ratchet yelled and Mudflap started balling.

"We was fightin' and wrestlin' an' I pushed him, and then he got mangled!" was what I got from Mudflap's rambling. Skids did look pretty banged up. He looked like he was pushed into a wood chipper, which probably wasn't that far fetched. Ratchet looked him over and sighed.

"What have I told you two about rough housing?" he scolded as Skids let out a pained, choking cough.

"You guys wanna see something?" I asked and bot Ratchet and Mudflap looked down at me.

"What's so amazin that you gotta pull us away from muh brother?!" he yelled at me and I was kind of scared for just a split second.

"I wanna try something." I said as I went to pull my knife out of my back pocket, but it wasn't there!

"Ratchet, uhm, where is my knife?" I asked, trying so hard not to panic.

"What knife?" He asked as he started patching up Skids.

"My knife, it was in my back pocke-" and then it hit me. "Oh no! I must have lost it when I was running from that asshole!" I cried out unhappily as I patted down my own ass, thinking I had merely put it back in the wrong pocket, but alas, I did not. It was gone. "No! It could be anywhere!" I cried out as a tear escaped my eye. I let out a frustrated growl as I grabbed a scalpel from the table next to me and, before Ratchet could protest, I gripped it as I ripped it across my palm and pressed my, now bloodied, palm against Skids' side and I merely set the scalpel back down and walked off, as Skids sat up, not a single scratch visible.

I sat on my bed, scrunched in the corner, tightly hugging my legs as I cried into my knees. I mean sure, it was just a knife, but my Mamaw had given me that knife when I was young and we found out just how my healing powers worked. She died shortly after that of bleeding ulcers.

I didn't know what I was going to do. I ran for a long time, and the chances of it being in that stump were very slim; not to mention the fact that the tree was ripped from the ground. There was no way I was going to find it now. That thought alone was enough to bring a fresh batch of tears to come to my eyes.

Moments later, I had finally settled myself and my tears were nothing but dried streams of salt residue left on my cheeks.

About that time a knock sounded on the door.

"Who is it?" I asked, my voice sounding hoarse from crying so hard.

"It's Starfire. Mudflap and Ratchet told me what happened." she said as she cracked my door open.

"It's fine. I'll be ok. I'll find another knife." I said as I stood and rubbed my face with the back of my hands. Truth was, I wasn't ok.

"Hey, you wanna go for a ride? That should get your mind off of things." she said with a smile as she stepped fully into my room.

"Yea, that would be great." I said. Despite what Ratchet said, I needed to get out. I needed to get out and get some fresh air, see some colors other than the boring white and grey of the base.

I quickly got changed into some fresh, clean clothes and went down to the exit hanger, where Starfire was waiting for me.

"You ready?" she asked as she opened her passenger's door and I jumped in.

"Yea, let's go to the city. I need to be surrounded by people. No offense. It's just that I'm tired of army people, who are total stiffs, by the way, and giant alien robots! Again, no offense." I said as I stared out the window.

"None taken," she started, "If I were in your... Shoes? Yea, I'd be the same way." she said as she stared at the road.

Moments later, I was standing in front of the mall. I had no money, but that didn't matter. I just wanted to be surrounded by actual human beings. Like I said, the army people were humans, but, not only were they stuffy, but they knew what I was and for some reason I was more shunned than the Autobots were. I, personally, thought it was because I was more their size. You can't exactly be ballzy towards a giant robot without running the risk of getting squashed. Oh well.

As I sat on the bench and ate a caramel caribou waffle cone, I couldn't help but smile. This was nice. Though it wasn't my own mall in my own town and I wasn't hanging with my own friends, it was still nice to not have to worry about big, giant robots that want me to bring their dead leader back to life.

"So, I don't see why humans like the mall so much." Star pointed out as she sat down next to me.

"Me neither, but it's still fun to just hang out and watch them run about like a chicken with it's head cut off." I said and I realized just how alien I was.

"So. What about you and Ironhide?" she asked and I about dropped my ice cream cone.

"What do you mean?" I asked as I licked it back into place.

"Alright, we already went through this. I believe I won last time." she stated with crossed arms.

"You haven't said anything, have you? Star! He's really old!" I cried out and people around us were looking at us like we were freaks. Ok. They didn't know that we really were, but hey.

"To you he's old! To our race he's..... Ok. He's still old, but hey! Age is just a number, as your race puts it, isn't it?" she asked.

"Yea, but there's a good couple thousand known difference between our ages!" I pushed in a hush tone. People were already giving us weird looks as is.

"Known?" she questioned as she looked at me.

"Yes... I don't... This is hard to explain... But here I go. Obviously I am not from Earth. I don't really remember anything from before I came here. I have no idea. I could be wayyyy older than 18 and not even know it." I said and she gave me a funny look.

"Well, there you go! Hide might not be that much older than you!" she said happily.

"Star, this is serious! I don't know how I'll ever find out the truth!" I said with displeasure.

"Maybe things are better left unknown?" she said as she got up. "Come on, Optimus wants you back at the base. He said there's a possible Decepticon sighting and he wants you safe." she said and I got up and followed her to her alt mode.

I watched the trees and the pavement pass by as she drove.

When we arrived back at the base, it was dark out. I got out of Starfire's alt mode and went to my room and laid down. I was so tired for some unknown reason and figured, since there was nothing else to do, I would just go to sleep. However, my body and my mind disagreed with me. I tossed and turned and no matter how I laid, I could not get to sleep. So, I found myself wondering out to the roof top where I sat down. The clouds were covering the stars tonight, so no star gazing.

"I was wondering when you were going to show up." said a gruff, ragged voice and I jumped at the sound as my heart fluttered.

"Ironhide, you scared me." I said as I gripped my chest and looked down to see him leaning against the building with his arms crossed, across his chest.

He mumbled something like "sorry" and I settled down. I didn't know what to do. I felt so awkward around him. I did the only thing I could do. I started a conversation.

"So, what does your holoform look like?" I asked as I jumped down. He was so used to it, he didn't even react anymore.

"Why do you ask?" he asked as he looked down at me as I mimicked his actions and leaned against the bulding.

"Well, I've seen Star's and I've seen Ratchet's, I'm just curious." I said as I looked up at him.

He said nothing as he transformed into his alt mode and a moment later, a man stepped out of his cab. He brushed himself off as he stood strait and looked at me. My heart skipped a beat as I stared at him. He had dark brown hair, peppered with grey, cropped army style, bright blue eyes, wore a tan beater with army print cargo pants.

"You ok?" he asked and I looked back up at him. "Your heart rate is irregular and your body heat has increased. Are you feeling ok?" he asked.

"Huh? Oh. Yea. I'm fine." I said and I couldn't help but stare some more and think bad things. That's when his holoform flickered. I walked over and he stood his ground as I reached out and rest my hand on his chest. Solid. A purely solid brick wall, but then my hand went through and I braced myself for impact when strong arms grabbed ahold of me.

"I'm still working on it. I can't maintain a solid form just yet." he said as he helped me to steady myself.

I just stared at him as he finally let go of me and for a second we locked eyes. Before I knew what I was doing, my lips met his. My heart was fluttering and my head was racing. When I realized what I did, I pulled away to see his surprised face. I was so embarrassed. I quickly ran back into the base.

I ran strait to my room and balled my eyes out. What the fuck was I thinking?! I KISSED him! This was not good!

I paced my room. I didn't know what to do. I was having a panic attack! That's when I decided. I was going to go talk to Star. Whether she was going to help or make things worse, I wasn't sure, but I needed to talk. I needed to let it all out.

I found Star in her room. Bee was just leaving and I did not want to know what they were doing. I know it wasn't checking out the maps.

"Star? I need to talk to you." I said as I waved at Bee and he smiled down at me.

"Hey! What's up?" she asked, taking on a more cheery disposition.

I closed the door as I walked in and jumped up and pulled myself into a sitting position on her desk.

"Star, I kissed him!" I let out and she squealed.

"Yes! Finally! What was it like? Is he a good kisser? What- How?" she asked with a wide grin.

"Oh my, it was amazing... I- NO! No, Star it was not ok. It's not ok that I kissed him, it is not ok that I even like him! He's from a different planet and I... I don't even know what the fuck I am!" I cried out and her holoform appeared as she pulled me into a hug and I cried on her shoulder. "Star, he probably hates me now." I cried and she shh'd me.

"Rhiley, I'm sure he doesn't hate you. Trust me, if he wasn't all for it, he would have burnt ya up with the blasters before it even happened. Don't worry!" she reassured.

"Star, I ran away! I kissed and ran!" I cried and she chuckled.

"That's all? Seriously? There is much worse that could have been done." she said and she let me go.

"Really? Like what?" I asked as I wiped away my tears. I found I was doing that a lot lately.

"Well... I don't really know, but I do know there are worse things that could have happened." she said and I sighed. She was right.

"I think I need to be alone for a while." I said as I jumped down and walked out into the hallway.

I was depressed. I didn't know what to do. I kissed Hide and now I wasn't going to be able to look at him without feeling awkward.

As I walked down the hall, I passed Mudflap and Skids.

"Hey! Hey, how did ya do that?" asked Skids as he stopped and knelt down to my level.

"Do what?" I asked as I tilted my head to the side.

"Make Skids go from bein' ripped ta shrapnel to bein' all better?" Mudflap cleared as he mimicked his brother.

"I- I don't know how to explain it. I've always been able to do it." I said and they didn't seem too satisfied with that answer.

"But yer hand. What about that cut in yer palm?" Mudflap asked and I held out my hand to show him that I had no scar.

"It's no big deal. I did it to Starfire too." I said and both bots straitened up.

"Well, we wanted ta thank ya." Skids said and his brother nodded.

"Oh, and old man Ironhide was a lookin' for ya. Didn't seem like himself." Mudflap said as they walked away. My heart leapt into my throat. Ironhide was looking for me?

"Seems he found ya, though!" Skids added and they laughed as they turned a corner.

My face scrunched in confusion.

"Rhiley." said a gruff voice and I thought I was going to die. My face got hot as I turned around to face Ironhide.


	7. Chapter 7

**Alright, this is just a warning. Ironhide is a bit OOC in this chapter, but I figured he needed to soften up a little bit with Rhiley. Don't worry. He's still that same hard ass we all know and love.**

**And thank you to those of you who reviewed and messaged me. Messages / Reviews make me happy. So does adding me to the alert / favorite list. Thank you to those of you who added me. I meant to message you all personally, but then I got a vaccine, got sick and never got around to it. Please don't take it the wrong way! I love you all!**

"Listen, Ironhide, I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me. I-" but his holoform silenced me with a deep and passionate kiss. A single tear made its way down my face as I kissed him back. It was a simple little kiss, but it meant so much to me.

When we broke apart, he rest his forehead on mine.

"Ironhide, I think I should tell you, I think I really like you." I finally told him and he smiled.

"The feeling is mutual." he said and in my mind I couldn't help but do a little dance.

Then his holoform disappeared and I looked around in confusion.

"Slag. I can't hold up my holoform for too long. Roughly about half an hour to an hour, depending upon my condition." he said as he walked forward. "Still needs work." he said as he looked down at me.

"So, why don't you just bring it up again?" I asked and he shook his head. I had to admit, I wanted more of his kiss.

"It takes a few hours for the hardware to recharge. It's getting better, before I wasn't able to transmit a holoform at all." he said and I smiled up at him.

"Things are getting more complicated by the minute." I said and he nodded his head in agreement. "I think I need to go be alone for a few... I need to go clear my head." I said as I walked past him and gave his foot a pat.

A few minutes later and I found myself in my room, sitting on the poor excuse of a window sill.

'He likes me back.' was the thought that ran through my mind at that moment. 'He actually likes me back.' I just couldn't get that out of my head. All my rants about him being too old and about the height difference just completely jumped out the window with that simple kiss. I found myself subconsciously touching my lips. I could still feel the tingling sensation.

Then there was a knock on my door. I growled. Who the hell was it?!

I opened the door and Star jumped me with a hug.

"Finally! I saw you two! I saw it with my own optics!" she cried out happily.

"Does Ironhide know you were spying on us?" I asked, nonchalantly.

"Oh, hell no. He'd kill me." she said and I smiled. "So much for your little fears, eh Rhi?" she asked and I shrugged.

"Well, I still have my doubts, but I suppose I can make this work." I said as I grabbed my tail and began to make little braids out of the long strands at the end.

"Well, of course! I can't believe his holoform even works..." she more said to herself than to me

"Heh. It's solid too. I thought you said his was all see through-y?" I asked and she shrugged.

"He must have been working on it for some time." she said as she sat down next to me on my bed.

"So, I suppose I am now, kind of, officially with a giant, alien robot from another planet. How am I going to explain this one to Mother..." I mumbled that last part and Starfire laughed.

"Don't fret the little things, hun! Focus on right now. And you know what I heard? I heard he has the longest rod on-"

"Shut up, Starfire! I just got with the guy fifteen minutes ago! I am NOT thinking of _that_ right now!" I cried out as I covered my ears. This just earned me an evil smirk.

"Oh, I get it... You're... What do the humans call it? A virgin?" she asked and my face turned red.

"No! I'm not!" I cried. This conversation was getting rather awkward. At least on my part it was.

"Then why are you making such a big deal out of it? Are you afraid I'm right?" she asked and I took a deep breath to steady the 30 shades of red I was turning right now.

"No. I just don't like talking about fucking a guy I just got together with! It's rather disturbing!" I cried and she laughed.

"Hun, it's a perfectly normal-"

"Ok. This conversation is finished. Just leave it be. I'm sure my face is a nice shade of purple right now." I said as I walked over to my window sill and sat down.

"Alright, I'll leave ya alone... Have fun!" she said with a smirk as she waved and walked out, shutting my door behind her.

I sighed. This is getting VERY complicated.

The next day I awoke to a face staring down at me. I screeched as I threw a punch and he just barely dodged it.

"Who the hell are you!?" I cried out as I covered myself with my blanket. I wasn't naked or anything, but I was in my pjs, which consist of Batman fleece pj bottoms and a black, Batman beater with a huge Batman logo on the chest.

"Oh! That's right, you've never seen Bee's holoform." Star piped from behind, I kind of looked at Bee weird. He had shaggy brown hair, bright blue eyes, and seemed a little shy. He wore a yellow and black striped vest over a black sweater and a pair of baggy jeans.

"Oh, sorry Bumblebee. Uh, no hard feelings?" I asked my ex-guardian. He shrugged. "Having problems with your voice again?" I asked and he nodded.

"So, we came by to see what you were doing today." she said as she wrapped an arm around Bee.

"Oh, you know, sitting here, not doing anything at all. Probably sit here and watch the non-existent grass grow." I said casually. "And before you say 'let's go for a drive', I'm already tired of driving." I said with a laugh. One could only do so much before it became repetitious and rather boring.

"Oh, well, actually we were going to go see a movie with Sam and Mikaela." she said. I have never been one for the movies, however.

"Actually, I think I'm gunna just stay here. I think I'm going to just sleep until the Decepticons don't want me anymore and I can go home." I said as I laid my head on my pillow.

"Oh... I see... You wanna spend some time with old Hide, don't you?" she cooed and my face turned red again as I remembered last night.

"No." I grumbled as I sank deeper into the security of my blankets.

"See, Bee? She's acting like him already!" she said happily and I threw my pillow at their retreating figures. Luckily for her, she shut the door before it could hit her, otherwise there would be a mad throw down going on right now.

I grumbled as I got up and grabbed my pillow and laid back down; However, I couldn't fall back asleep, no matter how hard I tried. Damn it! Starfire just HAD to bring up last night, didn't she?

I got tired of tossing, so I figured getting something on my stomach would help. I didn't even care about changing into my clothes. I figured since I was forced to be here, I would, at least, be comfortable.

I walked down to the mesh hall, where I grabbed a fairly large, bright red apple and I went to my corner to sit and enjoy this lushious fruit. I just sat there and people watched as I munched. That's when _he_ walked in and sat down next to me. I wanted nothing more than to sink into my blanket (which I did in fact bring with me) and disappear.

"Hey Ironhide." I said and I took another bite of my apple. He nodded at me, his holoform flickering as he did so. "Still having holoform issues?" I asked.

"It comes and goes." his gruff, harsh voice replied with a slight shrug.

When I finally finished my apple, I got up and threw the core away and I smiled at Hide as his holoform finally flicked out completely. It was getting better though.

"I think I'm going to go lay down." I said, realizing I was talking to myself. I sighed as I walked down the hall. This time, however, I was going to take a different route and make things interesting. All the military personnel frowned at me as I passed by, but I figured it was because they were jealous. I wasn't sure, however, if it was the fact that I was wearing Pj's, with a blanket wrapped around my figure, around base and they couldn't, or the fact that I had on awesome Batman Pj's. It was a toss up.

I walked down a large corridor, which I knew to be the hanger where the Autobot's reside. Bee was the only one without a room, since he stayed with Sam.

As I walked, I noticed a door open. I had never seen this room before, but, since I am a naturally curious person, I walked in anyways. I found Ironhide standing at a desk. There were parts of metal laying everywhere, more than likely for cannons and other sorts of weaponry. The whole room was littered with parts!

"What are you doing down here?" he asked in his harsh, badass tone. I knew he meant nothing of it.

"I wanted to take the scenic route." I said as I looked around. I folded my blanket nice and neat and threw it on a clean, human sized chair, and walked over and jumped up onto his desk. I sat down, Indian style, as I watched him work. He was actually very good with his hands. I hugged my knees as I rocked back and forth, watching him work on his weapons. Every now and then he would look down and smile. Not rightly a cheery smile either. More of a "I'm a badass" smile.

**I'm sorry, everyone! I was a little sloppy with this chapter and I apologize for it. It will get better, I promise. **

**I also wanted to tell you that I may not be able to update as regularly as what I have been for the last week or so. I just got a new job and am starting college the 11th. I also have to take the schooling they give me at my place of employment. So. Worst case scenario, I may not update for a month at the very most. I know Bellz is going to be after me, and Bells I still plan to give you your long ass, smut-filled story before I start school, but this is just how it has to be. Like I said, the very longest I will go without updating is a month. I don't plan to discontinue, or anything like that, because I know there are a couple people out there that enjoy reading my story! So, this isn't a punishment, this isn't "I'm running out of ideas". It's merely an "I have things that have to be done" situation. I hope you can forgive me!**

**And just so you know, I have set a goal for myself to update, at the very least, once a week. I make sure my chapters are at least 2000 words and I may try for longer in the future, but please bear with me, people! I love you all!!! XxX -Red**


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